Where do our rights come from?

Where do our rights come from? This should be a rhetorical question, shouldn’t it? But in a world that is increasingly pushing God out of our culture, it’s one that probably should be addressed.

Over two hundred years ago, the forefathers of the United States drafted a famous document called the Declaration of Independence. In that document, it was apparent that an overwhelming majority of these men believed that our rights came from God. Can there be any doubt what they believed as they wrote the following?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

But there are those today who believe they’re more enlightened than the forefathers.

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America is Failing

https://www.flickr.com/people/82297923@N00

Not everyone will agree, but America is failing and is headed toward irrelevance. One could argue that the country is actually improving by some standards. If that’s the case, it’s the standards that should be questioned.

There is one website in particular, Citizens Fed Up, that distorts the results of President Obama’s administration. They would say that according to government statistics, or other such data, that he has “doubled the stock market, cut the unemployment rate in half, ended the shrub’s recession, stabilized the housing market, helped bring back American manufacturing, cut the uninsured rate in half, and cut the shrub’s budget deficit, by 2/3rds”. Despite the condescending tone of their rhetoric, there’s a lot of debate on not only the accuracy of these claims but also on the validity of the data.

The point right now, however, is not to go through each claim and fact check or debate them. Let’s, for now, take these claims at face value. We might say that the economy is improving, that more people are employed, and that the country is better off financially than before President Obama took office.

The question really is what is the standard by which we claim America is improving? 

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Live Contrary to the World

Pic by Balazs Toth

Today we live in a culture saturated with self-serving, self-indulging, and self-gratifying people. It doesn’t take much to see how true this really is. We could point to the level of violent crime in the US, which indicates on some level a selfish desire to inflict pain on others in order to gain some demented level of gratification. Don’t believe that statement? Consider this comment from one Memphis teenager regarding a teen mob attack at a Kroger grocery store, “It’s fun…That’s just what kids do.”

Violence, though, is just one of many behaviors that reflect the reality of a selfish culture. What about a city that votes unanimously about criminalizing homelessness? Yes, it’s true. The city council in Columbia, SC voted to criminalize homelessness. Why? The motive isn’t completely clear as one council member said it was a temporary measure toward “a more sound resolution.” But like most decisions similar to these, it usually revolves around money. Apparently some businesses are voicing concerns on how the homeless crisis is affecting the city. (Read: Affecting sales and the bottom line.) Instead of addressing the issues in a more humanitarian way, it’s apparent that incarcerating, or moving the homeless to “a remote emergency shelter” on the outskirts of the city limits and where they’re out of sight, is a more acceptable alternative.

Another example of a selfish society can be found in Daytona Beach, CA and Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The law enforcement in these cities are told to enforce ordinances that make it illegal to feed the homeless. According to the laws of these cities, it’s up to the government to use taxpayer money to meet these needs in the community. The penalty to feed the homeless on your own? Large fines and even jail time. These laws seemingly run contrary in showing compassion to those less fortunate. 

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I'm Mad

 

Image courtesy of sumetho / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

 

I’m mad.  Is that wrong?  I’m mad at the government.  I’m mad at our so-called leaders.  I’m mad at President Obama.  And I’m mad at every cotton-picking person in this country. 

Okay, maybe that’s taking it a bit too far.  But I am pretty ticked off at the world right now.  Why is it that the world has seemed to have gone crazy? 

Oh, I know.  I’m not supposed to get mad, be disrespectful, or voice my opinion because I’m a Christian.  Or something like that.

The truth is there are probably certain things I’m saying right now that I shouldn’t.  I shouldn’t even be thinking them.  But I’m human.  Flesh and blood.  Christians have feelings and emotions just like anyone else.  The mature ones, the ones that are walking closely to God, live under the control of the Holy Spirit.  I think I would do good to be controlled by the Holy Spirit than my crazy thoughts.

I just can’t understand why right seems wrong and wrong seems right to so many people.  Somehow under the guise of political correctness things have been turned upside down.  I guess it’s like when the Bible states how every man does what seems right in his own eyes.  It’s utter chaos.

We have a president that seems to care nothing about anything other than his own agenda.  If it doesn’t fit within the scope of his plans then the media and his faithful minions group together to squash his detractors.

Take the Affordable Care Act for example.  Despite not having the full support of the American people and knowing how unpopular this law was and is, President Obama and his minions had to use some form of political maneuvering to get the thing passed.  It wouldn’t have gotten passed had it not been for some unethical procedural moves.  The thing is is that this law should have been under heavier scrutiny.  It should had been more difficult for it to have been passed.  It affects something like a fifth of the economy!  And even beyond the financial implications are several spiritual ones as well.  Abortion is the first thing that comes to mind.  But despite all this, the liberals forced it down our throats and now we’re having to “find out what’s in the bill” a little bit over time.

It makes me mad to think that we have a runaway government that does whatever it seems to please.  We have a president that pretends he is a Christian talking about Jesus being his Lord and Savior and even promoting the idea of dignity of every human being.  Then in the same token, before a different crowd, he asks God to bless Planned Parenthood, the consistent killer of unborn children.  Where’s the dignity in that?  There’s no accountability and not enough people to care to turn this monstrosity around.

No, unfortunately we live in a world that would rather live in its own vomit.  So to speak of course.  The Bible mentions this in the same way a man returns to his folly.  People are quite content with the sin in their lives and would rather not give it up.  Some make jokes about this saying things like they’ll be partying in hell with their friends.  If only these people truly understood hell.  It’s not like any of us do, mind you.  But the Bible does give us a glimpse of what it’ll be like and it’s not good. 

Perhaps the most distressing thing about hell is the absence of God.  And what is God?  Or rather what are the characteristics and attributes of God that will be missing?  Love, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, patience, longsuffering, and God’s grace are only a few.  What people fail to realize is that God’s presence is felt every day in this world.  God has not removed Himself but His presence is everywhere, for saints and sinners alike.  God is still holding the balance of the universe together.  He is being patient, He is being faithful, He is being loving every day. 

Some might think that there is no God because there is so much bad in the world.  People hurt, suffer, and die.  Many people go through unbearable pain.  There is a lot that can’t be explained away even with Judeo Christian theology.  I think that stuff like this happens to draw us closer to God.  It’s through the sorrow and the misery that gets us to realize our utter dependency upon God.  No matter what we think about the bad in the world, the reality is that we brought this upon ourselves through our sinful natures. 

What we should really ask ourselves is why should God show good to us?  Why should we have the opportunity to find peace, love, and joy?  We have sinned against our Creator!  We deserve what we deserve.  The Bible says that the wages of sin is death.  So if we’re to be mad at God, we should probably first look at ourselves, our own misguided thoughts and behavior, in the mirror.  If anything, we should wonder why God would lavish His love on such an unlovable people?  Why would God send His one and only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins to save us?

We’re such an ungrateful people.  Instead of opening our eyes and realizing the extent to which God has gone to love us and restore us so we can have a relationship with Him, we push God aside.  We say no thank you and decide instead to wallow in our sin.  Some joke about hell and think that will be such a fun place to be with no rules or restrictions.  Heaven, of course, is some boring place where angels just sit on clouds playing the harp.  Who cares about that?

The question is is hell that great a place?  Is hell some place where anyone wants to be?  Think about that.  Hell is going to be a complete surprise to so many people.  Unfortunately, by saying no to God, they’re actually saying yes to hell.  We may not have all the facts about hell, but God does give us an idea of what hell is like through science.  What is cold?  Isn’t cold the absence of heat?  What is darkness?  Isn’t darkness the absence of light?  In the same sense, there is something significant that happens when God is removed from a place.  If God is all the things that was described above like love, kindness, and goodness, what happens when these attributes are removed?  Think about the worst nightmare you’ve ever had.  Amplify that experience a thousand fold.  I think that’s what hell is going to be like.

It sounds scary.  And it should.  It should cause us to think about our situation and where we are in relation to God.  In fact, it should cause us to fear God, who in turn controls not only the destination of our body, but our soul and spirit as well.  The Bible says that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.

Again, I can already hear the laughter and the mocking regarding hell.  Statements about who needs God and who cares about heaven anyway because it’s going to be so boring.  However, if God isn’t present it’s going to be about the worst place anyone could imagine.  The Bible says it’s a place where there’ll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

I guess these are the reasons I am mad.  I’m mad at a world that refuses to grow up.  In fact, it seems like it’s very much the opposite.  More and more it seems like we live in a world where adults are acting more like children.  And the children?  Well, it’s getting so bad with them that the word entitlement is becoming more common by the day.

People are turning away from God.  The world is going down the cesspool of sin and despair.  Doesn’t anybody else see this?  Of course I know some do.  There are actually quite a few godly men and women who are devoting their lives to making a difference in others.  But more and more it seems that the rest of the world doesn’t care.  Maybe that’s just the United States.  To be fair, I shouldn’t make such a blanket statement for the whole world because I generally only see the depravity taking place here.  I see the news on TV of course and read many blogs and articles about the depravity in other parts of the world but I experience it here in the United States.

So why do I go from talking about the government and its corruption to talking about sin, hell, and depravity?  It goes to the state of our culture.  It’s what we as a people tolerate.  We elect people who represent our ideals and how we view the world.  We basically get what we deserve.  You may think that these elected officials in no way represent you and what you believe but why do we then tolerate them?  These people would not be consistently reelected to office if we weren’t okay with how they’re representing us.  No, I think that they represent what is going on in our culture.  We tolerate them like we tolerate sin.  And sin in turn takes every advantage and destroys everything good in our lives.

But it isn’t just the government that makes me mad.  Hollywood and the main stream media make me mad as well.  They promote homosexual lifestyles as being the norm.  They produce films and TV shows that pull at people’s heartstrings to sympathize with the plight of the homosexual’s mores.  And of course the sexual depravity began with the open onslaught against Biblical principles regarding heterosexual lifestyles.  They promote casual sex, adultery, pornography, the sex slave trade, and sympathy for the child molesters.  You say you don’t believe any of this?  Then you’re not paying attention.  Look at how they’re defending Woody Allen.  How much attention is given to the sex trafficking taking place at the Super Bowl?

To be fair, not all Christians have responded to sin appropriately either.  There seems to be for some a deep hatred toward those with sinful lifestyles.  These people don’t correctly reflect the attitude that Christians should have toward our culture.  The Christian church has enough to deal with when it comes to judging people within its own community, which is appropriate.  The goal there is to restore and train those within the church toward godliness.  But the goal toward those outside the church is to reflect God’s love and draw people into a relationship with the Savior Jesus Christ.

I believe many in the culture look at Christians as being hateful and self-righteous.  There may be some truth to that view and that is to the shame of the Church.  Not to provide excuses but many Christians are still in the growing process themselves.  Many are infants spiritually speaking.  It would do us well if the leaders in the Church would take appropriate measures to reign in hateful and ungodly behavior when engaging our culture.  Some local churches do this very well.  Many do not.

I am mad, that is true.  Maybe I’m mad because I know things will progressively get worse.  The pursuit of righteousness will seem to go by the wayside.  People will continue to love evil more than good.  People’s hearts will grow cold and their thoughts will be far from God.  The Book of Revelations shows us what that will be like.

I am mad.  There’s a Biblical reference to having an anger that is righteous.  It involves a perspective toward sinful attitudes such as hating sin.  I think the issue is not not being mad.  The issue is one not sinning in that anger.

But then again, maybe I shouldn’t be mad.  I know who the ultimate Victor is in the end.  I know that God is patient and not willing that any should perish but come to repentance.  That’s where I should direct my energy.  I can’t do much to change the nature of sin and how people seem to be drawn to it.  But I can commit myself to living for Christ and making much of Jesus.  Only Jesus can change a person’s heart.  If I live to introduce others to Jesus then I can have hope that the culture, government, and people can change, albeit one person at a time.

Sin

Picture from Creationswap

Just what do you know about sin?  That may be a stupid question to some but given the percentage of the world’s population that has never stepped inside a church it has to be assumed that there are those who have no concept about sin and what it means.  I, for one, didn’t understand it in my younger years.  And ironically, my family was somewhat religious and went to church every Sunday.  But my ignorance may not have been completely the church’s fault.  I was a very restless and inattentive child.  But the fact remains is that I grew up into adolescence without a firm understanding of sin, its affects or its consequences.

This observation, however, eventually raised some other questions for me.  Like what did I know or not know?  What did I understand?  I heard of Jesus, and knew about Him, obviously.  But did I understand what He did for me, and for the world, on the cross?  Did I have any concept of this idea of transgressing against God?

I do remember when I was 13 going through something called catechism.  I didn’t understand what it was at the time but what I know is that my knowledge of church, the Bible and even God was very little.  I couldn’t even tell you where certain books of the Bible were.  But it was during this period in my life that I slowly began to ask questions and gain some understanding into this thing called sin.  God was slowly at work on my heart even at that age.

Now when I mentioned catechism, you may have thought that I was referring to the Catholic church.  It wasn’t, however, but a branch of Catholicism.  It was at a Lutheran church that my family attended and where I eventually was confirmed.  From what I know, the Lutherans are a branch off the Catholic church which split as a result of Martin Luther and the Reformation.  The problem with Lutheran theology is that different divisions evolved from Martin Luther’s teachings and much of what we see today is nowhere reminiscent of its original concept.

There’s not much point to this explanation other than to help you understand the process by which I came to understand this thing called sin.  This period of time was also a particularly disturbing part of my life.  The irony is that I was going through a stage when I was rebellious and getting in trouble a lot.  (The irony being that I was sinning without knowing what it was.)  I remember it was after this time that my mom sought to get me involved in church; a different church from which I grew up.  It was non-denominational and its teaching was much different from what I’d heard before.  It was then that I heard the Gospel message.  And it was then that I also heard about sin and what it meant.

Can I honestly say that the Lutheran church I attended never explained the concept of sin and how it separated me from God?  I don’t think I can but it’s clear that if they did teach this then it completely missed my attention.  It may not have been something they emphasized.  Back then when I heard the word sin and how Jesus died for my sin it was puzzling to me.  Weird ideas would come to mind like, “What was sin?  And why do I need sin that Jesus would die for them?”  Did you catch that?  I thought sin was something that Jesus died for so I could have it.

Years passed however.  The revelation of what sin really was and the fact that Jesus died on the cross as the propitiation for my sins still wasn’t enough to get my attention.  Maybe there were concepts of theology that I still didn’t understand.  In fact, I know that’s true.  I’ll get into that more the next time.  But I also think I wasn’t ready to admit my condition and give myself over to God.

The issue that I think we need to resolve here is this – the reality of sin, what it is and what it does.  The thing is that if one doesn’t truly understand that there’s a problem, why would he/she begin to look for a solution?  And sin is a problem.  A serious problem.  What’s disturbing is that the world doesn’t even realize the depth of the seriousness or severity of sin.  Often we hear people joking about it as it’s some dirty joke or some dirty little secret.  So let’s identify sin before we go any further.

Sin

As defined by The Free Dictionary

1. A transgression of a religious or moral law, especially when deliberate.

2. Theology

a. Deliberate disobedience to the known will of God.

b. A condition of estrangement from God resulting from such disobedience.

3. Something regarded as being shameful, deplorable, or utterly wrong.

intr.v. sinned, sin·ning, sins

1. To violate a religious or moral law.

2. To commit an offense or violation.

As defined by Oxford Dictionaries

noun

    an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law: a sin in the eyes of God [mass noun]: the human capacity for sin

    an act regarded as a serious or regrettable fault, offence, or omission: he committed the unforgivable sin of refusing to give interviews

verb (sins, sinning, sinned)

[no object]

    commit a sin: I sinned and brought shame down on us

    (sin against) offend against (God, a person, or a principle): Lord, we have sinned against you

As good as those two definitions are I believe that the following definition gives more clarity on the subject.

Sin

As defined by Dummies.com by Richard Wagner

Sin is any deliberate action, attitude, or thought that goes against God. You may think of sin as an obvious act, such as murder, adultery, or theft. Although that's true, sin is also wrongdoing that's far subtler and even unnoticeable at times, such as pride, envy, or even worry. Sin includes both things you shouldn't have done, but did (sins of commission) and things you should've done, but didn't (sins of omission).

The issue that most of us have is that we generally think of ourselves as good people.  And from a human perspective that may be true.  We can all show merits of goodness.  In fact, when we look back we probably would say that most of the good in our lives outweigh the bad.  The real issue, however, is that God doesn’t look at us with the same weights or measurements as we do.  God’s standard is perfection.  But what is perfection?  What is this standard that God uses?  Inherently, we all understand what this is to a degree.  Think about it – don’t we all have a conscience that tells us right from wrong?  Sure we do.  God gave it to us and we were born with it.  It’s just that with some, they do what is wrong so often and with no regard that their consciences are seared (1 Timothy 4:2) or God gives them over to a depraved mind (Romans 1:28).  But ultimately, all we need to do is look to His Word (the Bible) and to His Son (Jesus Christ).  It’s by looking to the life of Jesus that we find the one and only Person that lived a perfect and sinless life.

So what does God see when He looks at the rest of us?  What He sees is rebelliousness, lawlessness and a complete disregard for Him as the Supreme Authority of heaven and earth.  We do things that God finds repulsive.  We lie, we steal, we covet, we do things that hurt other people and mostly because we are selfish and self-centered.  If it weren’t for His patience and longsuffering, God would have given up on us a long time ago.  I even think there are far more people today that dismiss the notion that God is even real or present.  This act alone causes problems between man and God that lays the groundwork for God’s wrath.  Mankind tends to have different views than God…false views that ultimately lead to our destruction.

If there is any doubt about what I’m saying read Psalm 14:1-3:

The fool says in his heart,

    “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;

    there is no one who does good.

2 The Lord looks down from heaven

    on all mankind

to see if there are any who understand,

    any who seek God.

3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt;

    there is no one who does good,

    not even one.

How many “fools” are there?  Sadly, all of us.  Pay attention to Romans 3:10-18:

10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;

11     there is no one who understands;

    there is no one who seeks God.

12 All have turned away,

    they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

    not even one.”

13 “Their throats are open graves;

    their tongues practice deceit.”

“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”

14     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16     ruin and misery mark their ways,

17 and the way of peace they do not know.”

18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Going back to the definition that Richard Wagner provided previously, we need to read it again and understand sin and how we are all guilty as a result of it.   It’s clear that in these previous passages that God views humankind as sinners.  But the sin that is even more grievous than pride, envy, murder, theft and the like is the sin of turning away from God.  Our problem, the human condition, is that we somehow believe we are capable of saving ourselves.  We think that we are self-sufficient and that our righteousness (or good acts) shows some merit to God.  These passages, however, paint a much different picture.  Don’t you see the part where God says He looks to see if there are any who understand and seek Him?  The passage from Romans answers that question and God says, “…there is no one who seeks [Him,]…not even one.”

Sin has a very damaging effect on our souls.  It not only puts us at odds with God (as the Bible says in Colossians 1:21), but it deceives us at the same time (Romans 7:11).  This is a serious problem.  Why?  Already we see that God’s standards are different from our own, but what does that matter?  What can sin do to us?  Sin, my friend, is the catalyst of God’s wrath.  God cannot tolerate sin because He is holy!  This statement may not mean much to you or me but God’s holy nature is such that because of sin there must be judgment.  And this kind of judgment is not the kind to be taken lightly.  Unlike the court systems of our world, God’s judgment is final and eternal.  It will be swift and it will be severe.  The Bible describes it like this:

Revelation 20:11-15

The Judgment of the Dead

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Matthew 13:40-42

40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This is the problem that the world is in.  But that doesn’t have to be the end.  God can change our path and destination.  It’s only by the grace of God that He would reveal our sinful nature, help us to understand this and even with us face the problem head-on.  The question is why would He do this?  Why would He help us, sinners and enemies of God, find a way to be saved?!?!  That is a good question and one I intend to help answer next time.

In the meantime, pray.  Pray that God would open your heart and eyes and reveal His truth to you.  Pray that He would help you understand how you have sinned against Him personally.  Pray that God would give you a heart and desire to begin the process of repentance and forgiveness.  (Repentance simply means seeing sin the same way God does and making a conscious decision to turn from it and turn to Him.  GotQuestions?org states repentance is, “…a change of mind that results in a change of action.”)  And pray that God would give you the faith to believe.  Believe it or not, if you are doing any of this it is God who initiated the process and it is God that will help you through it.  He is the Author and Perfector of our faith!

Romans 10:8-13

“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile —the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Coming Under Authority

Picture by Emanuel Neiconi at Creation Swap

Coming Under Authority

What comes to mind when you think of “authority?”  Is it the local law enforcement?  Is it your boss or supervisor at work?  How about the government, such as the President of the United States?  The word authority probably conjures up some picture of what your experience with authority might be.

You, perhaps, might be given authority if you’re a supervisor at work.  As a mom or dad, you also exert a certain amount of authority over your children.  Believe it or not, even if you work in a place of employment and you direct and guide customers to receive their goods and services you also exhibit a certain amount of authority.  For example, if you are a waitress and direct a customer to sit at a table you are using the authority that you were given by your employer to take this particular action.

Authority, however, doesn’t always carry a positive connotation.  Every one of us, perhaps, has a memory of some type of authority that has affected us negatively.  Maybe it was a teacher who “had it in for you” and treated you badly.  You might still be carrying those scars today into adulthood.  It could have been your father who was MIA (missing in action.)  Though this kind of affect from authority takes on a different perspective it still had/has a profound effect on you.

Authority is a power of influence that was instituted by God.  In fact, God is the Ultimate Authority over life and over each one of us.  Authority takes on different meanings and is important to understand if we’re to see authority as God intended.  Authority, as defined by The Free Dictionary, is as follows:

1.

a. The power to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, or judge.

b. One that is invested with this power, especially a government or body of government officials: land titles issued by the civil authority.

2. Power assigned to another; authorization: Deputies were given authority to make arrests.

3. A public agency or corporation with administrative powers in a specified field: a city transit authority.

4.

a. An accepted source of expert information or advice: a noted authority on birds; a reference book often cited as an authority.

b. A quotation or citation from such a source: biblical authorities for a moral argument.

5. Justification; grounds: On what authority do you make such a claim?

6. A conclusive statement or decision that may be taken as a guide or precedent.

7. Power to influence or persuade resulting from knowledge or experience: political observers who acquire authority with age.

8. Confidence derived from experience or practice; firm self-assurance: played the sonata with authority.

So how important is authority?  Or to put it another way, what happens when authority is used incorrectly?  Authority has such a significant effect on society that if abused it can cause irreparable harm.  Given this fact authority is often viewed badly.  We may even rebel against authority.  Many people in history have been given certain notoriety because of their complete disregard and disdain for authority.  This is particularly true in times and places when authority was corrupt.  You may think of the old Wild West in the United States back in the 1800s.  Or maybe the mobs and gangs of Chicago in the early to mid-1900s.  Whatever your thoughts or memories, abuse of authority has often resulted in an unpopular opinion.

Although authority is often abused, does that give us just cause to rebel against said authority?  In our minds we may think so.  If you’re a citizen of the United States you may regard your right as an American as a reason to rebel against authority.  If things aren’t going the way that you think it should go you may speak out harshly against the government because they’re not doing their job.  You may say that you’re a registered voter and you’re the one that gave that power or authority to the public officials.

As Christians, this is where I think we need to be careful in understanding our proper role in God’s purposes and plans.  In studying Romans 13: 1-7, the Apostle Paul makes it clear that God is the One who has not only established the role of authority but has placed the ones who are in authority.  This is perhaps one of the more difficult aspects to grasp.  How could God have placed someone like Adolf Hitler as ruler and leader of the German people?  Or someone like the Emperor Nero during the time of the early church?

These are difficult questions that we may not completely understand.  However, I believe we need to wrestle with these questions under the lenses of a Christian worldview.  One thing that comes to mind is the fact that we live with sin natures in a sinful world.  In a perfect world without sin, authority would be perfect as well.  The moment sin entered the picture it changed everything.  The reason perhaps that authority is often corrupted and abused is to help us as a people to understand that our most pressing and desperate need is a Savior.  If our lives were left without problems and struggles and persecutions, would we naturally turn to God to save us from our most pressing problem – sin?

Let’s first look at the passage for Romans 13: 1-7:

Submission to Governing Authorities

1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Notice in the first verse that “there is no authority except that which God has established.”  Clearly, as believers we are to submit to these authorities, whether good or bad.  Paul lists out some reasons why we should obey the authorities that seem logical.  He even tells us that if we rebel against these authorities that we are in effect rebelling against God.  But also notice that Paul doesn’t condition this command by stating that we should submit to the authorities only if we agree with them.  Or submit when there are good kings and rulers.  No, Paul doesn’t state that.  But what he does say is that “the one in authority is God’s servant for your good.”

Many times throughout the Scriptures we have examples of God’s people submitting to authority even when those in authority were undeserving.  Joseph rose through the ranks of authority and was given authority under the rule of Pharaoh in Egypt.  David submitted to King Saul even though Saul sought to kill him.  Daniel was even subject to King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon that took the Israelites captive.  Jesus submitted Himself even under the authority of Pontius Pilate, although Jesus had every right to rebel because He was completely innocent.  The apostles during the time of the early church submitted to the governing authorities of the Emperor Nero, a vicious ruler and persecutor of Christians at the time.

But we also see a glaring example of what happens when we rebel against God and His authority.  What happened to the Israelites after God rescued them from the hands of the Egyptians?  He brought them out to the desert.  It was during this time that the Israelites complained, murmured and grumbled against God.  Instead of inheriting the promise that God would give them a land of milk and honey, they incurred God’s wrath.  Those that lived during that time for 40 years died wandering out in the desert.  Why?  One of the reasons is a complete disregard for God’s authority over them.

Another thing that we see is that as Christians how do we respond to abusive authority?  When faced with the question of obeying authorities that are overstepping their power, do we obey God or man?  We see this question raised to Peter when he and the apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin.  When the issue was to obey man’s laws when they contradicted God’s commands, Peter says this, “We must obey God rather than men.”  Even Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had this to say to the ruler Nebuchadnezzar when confronted with worshiping a false idol, which they were commanded to do:

Daniel 3:16-18

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

It’s important that if we are to follow God, we need to understand from a Biblical standpoint how and when to submit to authorities and unjust laws.  It may not always be clear cut.  It may often take prayer and spiritual discernment.  But the general rule of thumb must be that unless it completely contradicts God’s Word, we should submit to those authorities that God has placed over us.

In addition, when we’re the ones in authority we should examine our own hearts and motives.  Think about the fact that God is our Ultimate Authority.  When God is the One who has given us authority, we should exercise this authority with caution.  Even the centurion who came to Jesus asking for healing for his servant understood this concept.  He understood that though he has authority that he too was a man under authority.  (emphasis mine)

Matthew 8:5-13

The Faith of the Centurion

5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

The question for us today is how do we submit to authority?  Do we submit to President Obama when he purposely enforces laws that go against our conscious such as abortion and same-sex marriage?  I would say that in every situation where God has given President Obama authority we should respect him as our President and not speak ill-will of him.  In fact, we should pray that God grant him wisdom and understanding.  We want him to do well because the country will do well if he does what is right.  But in areas where laws obviously contradict God’s commands, we respectively state that we must obey God rather than man.

What happens if we incur some persecution in response to obeying God?  Though Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego obeyed God, they were still thrown into the fire.  They submitted to the consequences of their choice.  We, too, need to be aware and willing to submit to the consequences of following Christ.  Will it be unpopular?  Will it cause pain?  May we end up in prison or endure hardship?  All of these are possible scenarios.  But we must remember that we are witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ.  It may be through these circumstances that unbelievers witness our obedience (even unto death) that they may be won to Christ.

Jesus often said that there is a cost of following Him and being His disciple.  He emphasized that we need to count the cost and consider the consequences of our choices.  Jesus understood the cost and even went to the cross on our behalf.  He endured hardship, suffering and even death.  Jesus pointed out in John 15:20, “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.”

Are you willing to follow Christ?  Are you willing to submit to authority?